Field of the Invention
This disclosure is generally directed to oilfield production with above ground completions, and in particular, pony substructures which are useful in drilling operations for oil fields having boreholes within walking distance from one to another. The disclosed pony substructures, through the use of foldable and collapsible outriggers, reduce the number of loads required for hauling and transport from one oilfield to another.
Description of the Related Art
In the oil production industry, drilling rigs are delivered to an oilfield drilling site in what usually requires dozens of loads. Upon arrival at the drilling site, the rig components are assembled and erected for operation. Once drilling is completed, the components are disassembled, loaded back onto trucks and trailers, and hauled to another oilfield drilling site for subsequent operations. Consequently, the entire operation's cost effectiveness is significantly affected by the ease with which the rig's components can be put together and taken apart, and the number of loads required to haul the rig and rig components from one site to another.
The use of substructures is a more recent development within the industry. A substructure is typically, a steel platform that supports the derrick or mast, drawworks, drill floor, doghouse, and rotary table of a drilling rig operation. Substructures, as the foundation of the entire drilling rig operation, are custom manufactured according to the drilling operation's specific needs. There are several types of substructures, including but not limited to self-elevating slingshot; box-on-box; box-in-box; and, swing lift, as well as pony substructures. Pony substructures or pony subs are smaller-sized substructures that, when used with one of the aforementioned substructures, raise the drill floor height on the drilling rig.
Additional developments within the industry are enabling the lifting and lowering of the entire rig and even walking the entire rig from one wellbore, for example, to an adjacent wellbore. The drilling technique known as “pad” drilling, which allows rig operators to drill groups of wells more efficiently, involves drilling a number of wellbores that are positioned and patterned in close proximity to one another. Concentrating the wellbores also helps the producer reduce costs associated with managing the resources above-ground and moving the production to market. During pad drilling, once one well is drilled, the fully constructed rig can be lifted and moved a few yards over to the next wellbore using skidding systems or hydraulic walking systems, as demonstrated by Entro Industries of Hillsboro, Oreg.
The following patents assigned to Entro Industries are incorporated by reference herein in their entireties: U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,490,724; 8,561,733; 8,839,892; 9,004,203; 9,045,178; and U.S. Pat. Appl. Nos. 2013/0156538;
Accordingly, reducing operating costs within the hydrocarbon exploration and development industry is a constant theme continuously being sought by producers. Solutions for reducing operating costs include reducing the number of truck loads required for delivery to and removal from production sites, advancements for enabling shorter rig up/rig down time, and providing mobilization of the entire drilling operation while in rig up mode.